Institute for Justice

April 2015, Volume 24, Issue 2

By Bert Gall IJ has chalked up yet another major legal victory for school choice! On March 2, the Alabama Supreme Court—in an 8-1 decision—ruled in favor of families when it rejected the lawsuit that the Alabama and National Education Associations (AEA and NEA) had filed against the Alabama Accountability Act. The act, Alabama’s first…

By Chip Mellor Readers of Liberty & Law know that among the most powerful components of IJ’s cases are the stories of our clients, who are motivated to fight government abuse not simply to improve their own lives, but also to secure freedom for others. They share a sincere and deeply felt understanding of the…

Over the course of 18 years, IJ client Isis Brantley and her small hair braiding school in Dallas—the Institute of Ancestral Braiding—have been at the center of two battles for economic liberty. The latest ended in January when a federal district court in Texas declared it unconstitutional to force small African hair braiding schools…

By Beth Kregor Many people never imagine themselves as an entrepreneur until they see an unmet need in their community and realize they can fill it. IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship client Damita McCoy is one such person. After watching her mother slip into dementia, she realized how important thoughtful, respectful caregivers are for the elderly…

By Paul Sherman IJ client Steve Cooksey is ready for a low-carb celebration! On February 9, the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition issued new guidelines that will allow Steve and others like him to offer dietary advice and guidance without the threat of criminal punishment. The new guidelines bring to a close a First Amendment…

The last issue of Liberty & Law summarized a series of victories that are helping build momentum to end civil forfeiture. And at IJ, we never rest on our laurels. In fact, we have been working hard to turn these victories into even bigger successes. IJ drove civil forfeiture back before Capitol Hill in mid-February…

By Paul Avelar Americans have the right to sue the government when it violates their constitutional rights. And lawyers have the right to represent those people in court for free. Unfortunately, both of those rights were recently under attack in Washington state. On February 20, IJ won the first round in a first-of-its-kind case when…

By John Ross IJ’s Center for Judicial Engagement (CJE) seeks to convince judges, the broader legal community and the public of the need for a properly engaged judiciary. Judges have an obligation to carefully weigh the facts of each case before them and enforce constitutional limits on government power. Too often, however, they abdicate that…

By Caitlyn Healy IJ is taking Partners Club members behind the scenes of the National Law Firm for Liberty in an exciting new way. Last summer, we debuted Partners Club LIVE, a series of live stream conversations that use a dynamic and interactive platform to give Partners a deeper understanding of how IJ turns donor…

By Javier Sosa When people hear “internship,” menial tasks come to mind: making copies, getting coffee and answering mail. But the Maffucci Fellowship is anything but the typical internship—it is an opportunity to gain unique experience and start your career learning to do things “The IJ Way.” As a supporter of IJ’s mission, I was…

The IRS has recently had some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. The latest was in February, when IRS commissioner John Koskinen found himself in front of the U.S. House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee answering tough questions about the agency’s use of forfeiture to seize money from bank accounts because of alleged “structuring”…